Real talk about working at a startup > 10 years after YC made things better for founders. The result? Founders are soaking up all the benefits of working for a startup. The early engineers that execute the vision get a pittance, and none of the credit.

Cons:
* I was paid terribly, and this was 8 years ago, so it was even worse than now.
* Even with the exit, I basically made enough money to recoup the money I should have been making at a bigger company, so it's net neutral.
* No one cares about that as a success for me. I'm surprised no one has brought this up. I was the 1st engineer for a company that had a successful exit for TechStars. Zero recruiters, companies, etc, have ever even asked about that company or my connection to it other than the fact they are reading it down on my resume (and when they do see it, they barely take note of it).
And for the record - I have no beef with the founders. But the culture around how to pay and credit early employees is institutional and was not their fault. They walked off with huge payouts and credit for their success, and I walked away with a catch-up check for missed EV and no one cares that I played an instrumental role in getting them where they are today.